Geopolitics changes the European drug market: polydrug use and new risks also in Italy

Geopolitical instability, globalization and new technologies are changing the drug market. Polydrug use, the spread of new drugs, especially synthetic ones, some of which are produced directly in Europe, but also crypto markets, new trade routes and increasingly large supply chains, complicate the scenario. New consumption trends are being created, but also health, social and economic damage that is not always calculable and increasing deaths, which contribute to the global burden of diseases. This is highlighted in the new report from the European Agency for Drugs and Drug Addiction, which also highlights the concern for the spread of new psychoactive substances: a wide range of drugs (as many as 47) not regulated by international control conventions, notified for the first time last year.

"The Agency is addressing the growing complexity of the emerging drugs and substances phenomenon," said Franz Pietsch , Chair of the Management Board of the European Agency. "With new tools and expertise, EUDA will strengthen the European Union by supporting Member States in responding to the health and safety challenges arising from illicit drug use."

Among Italian adults, 34.8% of a sample of 4011 interviewees use cannabis. Among young people (15-34 years old), 2.5% use it daily. Male consumers are more than double that of women. Meanwhile, the average THC content is doubling: today it is 23%. In the last year, a total of 24 million European adults have used cannabis. 6.6% of the Italian sample, however, sniff cocaine (5.2% among young people between 15 and 34 years old). And there are widespread fears for the spread of synthetic cannabinoids: in June 2024, Hungary reported a wave of 30 acute non-lethal poisonings connected to "gummy candies" containing powerful semi-synthetic cannabinoids. Under the European lens of the market and consumption, cocaine is the second most widespread drug (4.6 million Europeans, but the primacy is held by heroin) with different consumption patterns among the various countries. It is also the most problematic, with a significant increase in patients undergoing therapy for the first time (31%). The record seizures have allowed us to verify the various entry points of the drug (Belgium, Spain, Germany, France, Portugal), but also to consider the link between the use of the substance and violence. The examination of waste water has highlighted the constant increase in the availability of the substance.

But it is amphetamines, methamphetamines and, more recently, synthetic cathinones (all central nervous system stimulants mostly from India via the Netherlands) that are expanding on the market, where they are increasingly available, given unprecedented imports and seizures. Production sites, many of which have industrial capacity (organized for export to more profitable non-EU markets), are concentrated in a few countries. Large-scale production, both of amphetamine and methamphetamine, takes place mainly in the Netherlands. Some amphetamine is also produced in Germany and Poland, while in the Czech Republic there are reports of smaller-scale methamphetamine production plants serving the domestic market. The growth in European production of ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is worrying, with consumption also increasing in Italy, especially among young people. There is also alarm over the recent trafficking of amphetamine base oil from the Netherlands and Belgium to other countries for conversion into consumer products. Checks and seizures show that traffickers tactically direct shipments hidden in maritime containers through locations less associated with international drug trafficking, before reaching their actual destination.

Most synthetic cathinone laboratories are located in Poland, Belgium and Germany and are run by local criminal networks. The increase in consumption of these substances poses a challenge for harm reduction and emergency health services. In 2023, 9,200 users in several European countries entered specialist drug treatment. Several substances with hallucinogenic, anaesthetic, dissociative or depressant properties are also available on the market, including khat leaves (from the Catha edulis plant), LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), hallucinogenic mushrooms, ketamine, GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) and nitrous oxide. There are also concerns that the Taliban's ban on opium poppy cultivation and opium production in Afghanistan could potentially lead to shortages in the European market being filled with synthetic opioids.